Interrogating the curse of St. Patrick

Interrogating the curse of St. Patrick

Lough Derg--Folklore--St. Patrick--Interrogation

"…The story is told that in ancient times Lough Derg abounded in salmon and salmon-trout, just the same as its next neighbour, Lough Erne..."

Daniel O'Connor, 1843-1919

Daniel O’Connor, Lough Derg and Its Pilgrimages: With Map and Illustrations, pp 72-4

J. Dollard, Dublin

1879

Digitised by archive.org, sponsored by Harvard University

Public domain

Monograph

English

Pilgrim handbook

Text

DD_0030

54.616218, -7.876212

http://archive.org/details/loughdergandits00ocogoog

"…The story is told that in ancient times Lough Derg abounded in salmon and salmon-trout, just the same as its next neighbour, Lough Erne. The fishful lake gave an unfailing supply to the frugal table of the good monks, and little were the exertions needed in having always at hand a plentiful supply of this delicious and highly-prized fish. On a certain occasion the monks were expecting St. Patrick on his visitation, and had been out fishing all day, in order to have some salmon for the saint's repast However, they failed in catching any, and were sorely perplexed to find their hospitality thus put to so cruel a test ; which, when the saint had heard, he foretold that salmon would no more inhabit the waters of Lough Derg. And, as if to corroborate the truth of the foregoing incident, the legend goes on to say that about-sixty years ago a gentleman of the sceptical school, having heard the story as already narrated, put himself to great extremes in order to falsify the saint's prediction. He had salmon conveyed from a distance, carefully marked and deposited in the lake ; when lo! the very next morning the salmon were found in a net, which was placed in the River Derg to prevent their escape.

Little over forty years ago Dr. O'Donovan related the self-same legend ; and, if it be only to show how much these legends are altered and exaggerated, even in a short period of time, I shall give his version of it. He says: ‘No salmon come into the lake, though they come up to the very throat of the river. Two fishermen (who had a weir near the source of the Derg) cast two live salmon into the lake not many years ago, to see if they'd remain there ; and in order to know them they cut off a part of their fins and tails, but, on their return, they found the same salmon caught in their cochall, or net. This is attributed to the curse of St. Patrick.’

As a matter of fact, salmon cannot be found in Lough Derg. The lake, however, abounds in trout, and affords excellent fishing. In this respect perhaps no other lake in Ireland can compete with it During the summer and autumn a day seldom passes without witnessing a number of arrivals of those bent on this fine Waltonian sport ; and the followers of the angle are generally rewarded with a numerous ‘take,’ Trout weighing six or ^ight pounds are occasionally hauled in ; but the class most commonly caught do not exceed a pound in weight When a gentle ‘fresh’ is blowing, no more contemplative or enticing pastime could be desired than playing a well-trimmed ‘cast’ off the shoals and reefs, which are so numerous throughout the lake. And we can well imagine how the monks of Lough Derg in the olden time, albeit their prayerful and penitential lives, enjoyed ‘to their hearts' content’ this delightful recreation, as they sailed over its waters in their skin-covered currachs.

Eels, also, are to be found in Lough Derg. Near the mouth of the River Derg remains of an eel-weir may be noticed.

Of late years pike has found its way into the lake, some large fish of this class having been caught weighing over thirty pounds. These ‘fresh-water sharks’ up to this have made sad havoc on the trout of the lake, but it is satisfactory to find that large numbers of them, during the spawning season each year, are netted in the streams flowing into the lake, and in this way, it is hoped, they will be diminished. Through the surrounding mountains, foxes have been a similar source of destruction to hares and heathfowl ; their number, however, is very much reduced, as each year beyond a score of them are caught in traps."

Monograph